Favourite beauty sites.

During my many hours of procrastination I find myself perusing many different beauty sites in awe of all the products and articles, wishing I could afford it all.

My favourite site, or at least has been this year, is defintely Beauty Bay. I think the range of products they sell definitely cater towards the market I'm in with brand such as Makeup Geek, Morphe, Dose of Colours as well as some more exotic brands. I think their delivery service is amazing and I really enjoy the whole laid back, yet sophisticated look of the site. Plus their EDITed section is amazing. Similar to Beauty Bay is Cult Beauty. To me they have really nailed the combination of amazing brands and brilliant content. I love how they focus on such niche brands, especially where skincare is concerned and the aesthetics of their site are just dreamy!

Victoria Health is a site a customer introduced to me at work and I've been hooked since. The site focuses on botanical products mainly and delivers expert advice alongside the products. They have some well known brands such as Armotherapy Associates and a lot of up and coming brands too. I've been particularly attracted to the brand 'The Ordinary' and can see myself purchasing some of their skincare in the future.

Other favourites include the Liz Earle Website which I could spend hours on looking at all the different skincare products. Sephora's website is also very good - would you expect any less from the 'mothership'? I love all the categories and think their whole 'value sets' page is brilliant: heart eyed emoji everytime!

What beuaty websites do you enjoy? I hope you enjoyed reading, 

Holly x

The highlighter dreams are made of.

NARS has always been one of my favourite brands and their liquid highlighter in Copacabana is definitely up there with my favourite highlighters, alongside Becca Champagne pop, of course.

It's a beautiful soft pink/champagne colour with a silver reflects running through. It is incredibly pigmented, but not glittery. It has a lovely sheen to it and gives that glow from within look. It is a very creamy formula so I find it best to apply straight on top of my foundation. It doesn't interfere with my base at all, nor does it go patchy and blends in with everything really well. I find using my fingers gives it a much more intense look whereas using a sponge or a brush  helps it to blend even more so into the skin making it look slightly more natural. It dries in good time and if I layer products on top it provides the perfect base! Also unlike some highlighters I find that it doesn't emphasis pores which is always a bonus!

Have you tried any of the liquid highlighters?

I hope you enjoyed reading.

Holly x

Morphe 35O

Morphe has built up such a good reputation for itself within the beauty world, especially for the 350 palette. It's been out of stock for a very long time online however it came back in last week so I thought I'd buy it my sister as a very belated exam present.

I've had a play with it myself and can 100% confirm it is amazing. There are so shades to suit everyone and so many different looks can be created. They are extremely buttery shadows with high pigmentation and very little fall out. There are a couple of shades that are almost like foiled eyeshadows as they give off a vibrant, metallic finish and there are more than enough mattes and shimmers to please everyone.  It's such a good palette to go from day to night.

My sister is very pleased with it and I'm sure I'll be using it a lot too. It's definitely a staple!

Have you tried any Morphe eyeshadows? I hope you enjoyed reading,

Holly x

Nivea Skincare

I never used to be a fan of Nivea as I found their creams to be far too thick without any hydrating properties. However since I started using their Cleansing milk a while back I've been quite impressed so thought I'd try some other bits from their range.

Firstly I think their Cleansing Milk is really good, especially as a second cleanse. It is very gentle so not something I'd use to remove eye make up for example, but leaves my skin feeling clean and nourished. It is a creamy consistency which I really like and feel as though it melts into my skin whilst removing any last traces of makeup. The Refreshing Face Wash Gel is probably my least favourite out of the three I've discovered, however it is still pretty good. It is quite thick and takes some time to massage in to the skin and I find if I use it in the shower it can leave my skin feeling pretty tight. However it leaves my skin feeling so clean and is great for removing any mascara I have left, plus it smells good! I'm really impressed with the Gentle Exfoliating Scrub. In comparison to other scrubs it is much less abrasive and harsh to the skin and I believe the beads are slightly larger. I don't find it to be any less effective than other scrubs and my skin feels very soft after using it. It removes any dead skin without causing irritation! I love it.

Have you tried any of the Nivea skincare? I hope you enjoyed reading, 

Holly x

Autumn Transitions.

The colder weather has been starting to make an appearnance and as the seasons change so does my makeup preference. I love bronzed skin and peachy blush all throughout the year, but there's no harm in mixing things up.

I like to keep my base quite light, yet perfected and I find that the No7 Airbrush Away Foundation gives a flawless finish, despite its longevity not being quite like some of my other foundations, like the Rimmel ones. I always wear a lot of concealer, especially at the moment as I've had quite a few breakouts! I think the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer one is amazing and that one and the Nars one are definitely my favourites for both undereye and blemishes.

More often than not I bronze using Laguna, but have been enjoying using more subtle blushes that act as both a blush and a bronze - something like Rimmel Santa Rose is perfect for this. It has a slight sheen running through it which I prefer as I hate looking matte. For a deeper shade I love Nars Dolce Vita (bottom right hand side of the palette) as the plum tones scream Autumn.

For my eyes I've been really enjoying the Revlon Colourstay Eyeshadow quad in Adventurous. I prefer to layer the shadows lightly to create a taupe-esque shade, something similar to Mac Satin Taupe. I've been looking to get more use out of my NYX Liquid Suede in Soft Spoken. It is a much deeper shade than I'd usually go for, but have receievd compliments every time I've worn it - the few occasions I have. Its a lovely Autumn shade so I defintiely need to wear it more often!

The rest of my makeup is pretty standard in the respect to corrector, highlighter, powder etc, but I've been enjoying switching everything else up! Have you got any Autumn staples in your makeup bag?

I hope you enjoyed reading,

Holly x

Sheet Masks.

 Sheet masks have always been an intriguing concept to me so I quite excited to try some.

Initially I found them to be quite fiddly and felt like I was going to rip it, but once it was on my face and I stayed still, it clung to my face. I find it very bizarre how so much moisture can be fitted into such a thin piece of material, but nonetheless they are very hydrating! They were more wet than I expected them to be and was quite surprised at how much product there seemed to be left after 20-30 minutes. As well as hydrating they were cooling too and they didn't make my face feel tight like some masks can!

I was fairly impressed with both of them, but definitely think that they are a luxury in terms of my skincare routine, simply because they are very time consuming - definitely a sunday night treat! My skin loved them both and I woke up the following morning with very soft skin. I love how you can just peel them off and not have to rinse unlike other masks too. They're just not something I see as an essential in my routine.

Have you tried them? I hope you enjoyed reading,

Holly x

Current clothing list.

My wardrobe is after a switch up and I need some new bits and bobs before we head into Autumn. I have a huge wishlist so these are only a few - mainly basics because that's mainly what I need!

1. Smock Dress

I love smock dresses and how even though they are very simple, you can dress them up to make a really nice outfit. The quality of asos clothing is lovely for the price and I don't think I could go wrong with something like this.

2. Oversized Jumper.

I have so many jumpers yet feel I need more. I love the colour of this and think it'd be a little oversized so be very cosy!

3. Jeans

I find jeans very hard to shop for so usually stick to my trusted Topshop Leigh jeans. I own a pair of the white joni jeans, but think buying a darker pair would go much better with my autumn wardrobe. Plus, you can't have too many pairs of black jeans.

4. Monday T-shirt

I think this is brilliant and would go with so much in my wardrobe. Usually I'm not one for slogan tee's but this one made me laugh as soon as i saw it so I think I will be purchasing it come payday.

I hope you enjoyed reading,

Holly x